Blue Disguise

If high-octane garage rock mixed with R&B is your thing, Seattle's Thee Emergency is a must-hear band.
 
Unlike many post-punk bands, Thee Emergency's latest, "Can You Dig It?," is not filled with lyrically lacking tripe set to crunching guitars and infectious hooks. To be certain, the band knows how to rock out, crunch and write a hook, but the presence of front woman Dita Vox and her hard-edged vocals prevent the misogyny prevalent among their contemporaries.
 
The opening "Girl You Should've Known" is a three-minute feminist anthem set to thrashing guitars, while the title track is equally influenced by the Rolling Stones and early punk. The final two tracks' "Sweat Sex" and "No Condemnation"' find the band winding down with slower beats and stronger melodies. Throughout, Thee Emergency merges soul, R&B, garage, punk and Southern rock to produce its own brand of hard-hitting rock anthems.
 
- Tracy M. Rogers